Essay 4662

Protests, prosecutors and politics in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The Rev. Al Sharpton won’t protest New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, deciding the NBA legend didn’t declare it’s OK for Black men to use the term “bitch” towards Black women. “[Thomas] told me that what was on the tape was not all that was said, and that he only wanted a fair hearing,” said Sharpton. After viewing the tape, Sharpton was sure Thomas “doesn’t agree with anyone calling anyone a ‘B.’” So now Sharpton’s freed up to concentrate his efforts on Dog the Bounty Hunter.

• Prosecutors in the R. Kelly child pornography case were dealt a setback when a judge ruled against using the insights of a developmental and forensic pediatrician. The expert was recruited to give her theory regarding why the girl in the case has denied being the victim. But the judge nixed the witness for various legal reasons. At this point, the alleged victim is old enough to appear in R. Kelly’s music videos.

• The National Civil Rights Museum in Tennessee is drawing criticism for having too many White people and corporate types on its governing board. The group of 32 currently features 15 Blacks, 15 Whites, one Latino and one member of East Indian heritage; plus, 12 are representatives of big corporations. “The board should more nearly approximate the soldiers of the civil rights movement that it celebrates, and they were overwhelmingly African-American,” said one critic. Board Chairman Benjamin Hooks, a former NAACP honcho, defended the corporate representation by arguing their presence “also helps with matters involving business practices, the best business practices that we can bring in from the corporate world to the nonprofit world.” Guess green trumps all other colors.